Monday, June 21, 2010

Babycakes Sweet Shoppe @ G Tower

Macarons seem very much in vogue now; if you live or work in the city center, this family-run counter at G Tower's lobby level is the best place to get your fix.

Are their macarons as marvelous as the ones at Nathalie's? Yes, but in a different way. The crusts have a similarly light, elegant crispness, but the fillings are significantly heavier and richer. So it's really a toss-up; some will prefer Nathalie's, others will like Babycakes better. Let's just say that both are worth risking the extra sugar consumption.

We loved the creativity of the flavors here. Our favorites were the caramel with salted butter & the red velvet with nutella (!), but there are at least nine varieties, including green tea, black sesame, vanilla, chocolate, cherry, orange & lemon.

Man cannot live on macarons alone; thus, soft-baked chocolate chip cookies are also sold here. Not bad, but probably not as memorable as the macarons.

Price-watchers will be pleased to hear that the macarons are only RM2.20-2.50 apiece (depending on the flavor) _ basically half of what Nathalie's ones cost.

joe: yeah, this might be as low as it gets! it's probably unlikely that anyone would sell decent macarons for less than 2 ringgit :Dlfb: y'know, the only one i read was michael tolliver lives (i think it was the last one), and i didn't enjoy it at all. maybe i should started at the beginning? hope u're running, not walking, to get to the macarons (and bring a brolly!)augustdiners: alas, it's a really small counter, so this is all they have for now. but maybe if they get a lot of support, they'll be able to expand? *hint hint*klreporters: crossing fingers that u'll get your chance sometime this week! maybe buy a lot and then store some for rainy days...ciki: yep, macaron madness has gripped the city (but not as bad as world cup fever, phew!). let me know which week u're free lah, then we can arrange something! :Dleo: ya, the opening hours and location are definitely not convenient for ya. but do remember this place if u're in the city on saturdays between 10am-6pm! :D

You should start at the beginning, else it may not make much sense. Plus, Mouse (Michael Tolliver) was a hot young thing at the beginning of the series, not a disgruntled old man by the 7th book (from what I hear). :P

May not manage to hit the macarons today... still avalanched by work! :(

lfb: but the writing was dry and uninspiring, so there's not much temptation to search for the earlier books (especially since they're not readily available at bookstores, right ... i only found the last book by chance at a second-hand shop). hmmm, think how pleasant it would be to wade through work while munching on macarons. if u can't go out, then maybe that's what office dispatch guys are for :D

lfb: hmmm, if u recommend it, i guess i should risk it. if u can take the risk of getting back a dog-eared book with a creased spine (ok, that's what normally happens to the books i own, so i have to make a special effort to be careful with books i borrow) :Dgot no time to take a short stroll, but got time to comment on blogs. tsk, tsk :P

I feel almost guilty disrupting this happy banter. So did you try all the flavours? I suppose that's do-able, since 20 pieces will still be under 50 bucks, and you're as healthy as a horse (based on health chk many months ago, though) to be able to handle the sugar rush.

lfb: geez. that goodness your psychiatrist cured u. who knows what kinda full-blown ocd it might have developed into :Dp.s. add up all the time it takes to make many comments, and u'll have enough time for that stroll, plus a restroom break :Plemongrass: yeps, i did. luckily they still had all the flavors available that afternoon. it also got me imagining what could be other possible macaron flavors, like banana with peanut butter, creme brule flavor, tiramisu flavor ... and maybe some alcoholic macarons too? :D

lfb: dun bluff. i probably could dig up your therapist if i tried. i have my ways and means, since investigative work is part of my job :D and yep, a fizzy/bubbly champagne macaron would be terrific (if it's even possible _ i have no idea how to make a macaron!)

lfb: eh, how did u know about my not-quite-stellar sense of navigation? i can get lost trying to enter jln yap kwan seng from jln tun razak :D hmmm, maybe machu picchu should be your next holiday? though i hear it's pricey for us malaysians to make that sojourn from here. interestingly, a friend asked me whether i wanted to go on a cruise to antarctica next year (yes, i know that's not the arctic), but it's ridiculously pricey, so i had to decline... hmmm, i guess as long as u don't need your job, u don't have to return to the office :D

lfb: 1. we may never meet cos u insist on returning to the kawasan pedalaman after work instead of hanging out in our fair city :P2. doesn't he have a wealthy great-grand-aunt that he can get close to, so she's leave him his fortune in her will?3. i'd say something about my job here too, but u never know when my boss might suddenly discover it :D

lfb: 1. the tuscan valley is the countryside. taman desa = boondocks :D2. find a senile wealthy old lady and become her caretaker and best friend. it works in tv soap operas!3. does the boss know what you were REALLY doing while u were out for that "working lunch" earlier this month? :P

lfb: 1. eeks! comparing tmn desa to tuscany is like comparing italiannies to il lido! actually even worse lah :P though for transparency's sake, i should point out that i live in sri petaling :D2. it's a box of chocolates?3. wow, must be nice to have a gullible boss :D

Tng: ya, I guess one thing is that macarons are not as filling as donuts n cupcakes, and they're not so easily stored, so maybe they'll never become as popular or widespread as the others. But I definitely enjoy them more than donuts! :D

the folks at whisk are such nice people that I feel bad saying this but their macs are quite terrible and this opinion is shared by many of my friends who were sorely disappointed. drove all the way there and it was a let down. even worse is the rv cake which was so bad my friends and I had to give up after one bite.

macs at baby cakes are good. as for rv, the one at that burger shack in bangsar is very good. IMHO. just sharing.